If any country on earth is culturally defined through cigarettes, it’s Spain.

Butts crushed on the stone streets, olive-skinned Sevillanos taking drags in the late hours of Féria, smoke misting every bar in Barcelona—it seems you forget that real air actually exists in Spanish public until you get back to the smoke-free airport for your return flight.

Until now.

Spain is considering a revolutionary, culture-warping act: a smoking ban in all public places. This will change the ambience of the Spanish lifestyle dramatically. If you thought some states saw changes with their public smoking bans, imagine that times 10. There will be enforcement conflicts, frustration, confusion, and downright stubbornness. There will be an identity evolution.

So why should you care?

The Spanish truly know how to live. Spanish culture embodies a mentality of living life to its fullest, enjoying good food with good friends, filling historical streets with music, and dancing every chance you get. When something is old in Spain, it’s not torn down for condominiums. Instead, it sticks around to tell its story. Madrid is not about working yourself to the bone; it’s about living your life to the fullest.

With a smoking ban in public places, smokers and non-smokers and ex-smokers alike will be able to enjoy Spain to its fullest without having to worry as much about inhaling copious amounts of toxins. Choice will become a new environmental freedom for this country that prides itself on enjoyment.

Americans can learn from this example, not just in Spanish lifestyle, but in the upcoming events of this smoking ban. If Spain can peacefully liberate public spaces of cigarette smoke, any nation can.